JP2013118122A - Method for inspecting battery - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a battery inspection method capable of effectively detecting a failure of an electrical short circuit.
An electrode laminate in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are laminated, a positive electrode terminal connected to the positive electrode, a negative electrode terminal connected to the negative electrode, a metal layer, and a resin layer disposed inside the metal layer In the battery inspection method, the electrode laminate is housed in the exterior body, and the electrode laminate and the exterior body in which the electrolyte solution is housed and sealed with one end of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal projecting to the outside. And a first withstand voltage determination step (S3) for applying a first voltage between the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal to perform a withstand voltage determination in a state where the electrolyte is not injected, A second withstand voltage determination step (S4) is performed in which a second voltage higher than the first voltage is applied between the negative electrode terminal and the metal layer to determine the withstand voltage.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery inspection method.

  There is a battery having a configuration in which an electrode laminate in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are laminated is sealed with a pair of laminate films. In such a battery, when the positive electrode and the negative electrode are short-circuited, the function as a battery cannot be achieved. In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the current is measured by applying a voltage between the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal in the state before inserting the electrode laminate into the exterior body made of a laminate film and injecting the electrolyte. Detecting the presence or absence of a short circuit is described.

  According to Patent Documents 1 and 2, a defective product can be removed by detecting a short circuit between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. However, a laminate film usually contains a metal layer such as an aluminum layer in its inner layer, and even if a short circuit occurs between the metal layer in this laminate film and the positive electrode or negative electrode, it can function sufficiently as a battery. There is a risk of not.

  Therefore, in Patent Documents 3 and 4, the electrode layered body and the electrolytic solution are inserted into the exterior body made of a laminate film to seal the exterior body, and the battery is completed. It describes that the presence or absence of a short circuit is detected by measuring the insulation resistance between the terminal and the negative terminal.

JP 2010-32346 A JP 2001-236985 A JP 2002-324572 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-251685

  As described in Patent Documents 3 and 4, when the insulation resistance is measured after the injection of the electrolytic solution, the insulating property is lowered as the electrolytic solution functions as a kind of conductive path. Also, it is determined that a short circuit has occurred. As a result, even a battery that is not defective (has no structural defects) may be judged as defective and removed. Further, in the measurement of the insulation resistance, even if the state that has led to the short circuit can be determined, the state that may cause the short circuit (latent short circuit) cannot be determined. That is, even if the insulation resistance shows a normal value, it is impossible to detect a state where there is a high possibility that a short circuit will occur in the future.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery inspection method capable of efficiently detecting a state in which an electrical short circuit has occurred and a state in which an electrical short circuit may occur.

  The present invention relates to an electrode laminate in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are laminated, a positive electrode terminal connected to the positive electrode, a negative electrode terminal connected to the negative electrode, and a metal layer and a resin layer disposed inside the metal layer In the battery inspection method, the electrode laminate is housed in the exterior body, and the electrode laminate and the exterior body in which the electrolyte solution is housed and sealed with one end of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal projecting to the outside. And a first withstand voltage determination step for determining a withstand voltage by applying a first voltage between the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal in a state where the electrolyte is not injected, and a positive electrode terminal or a negative electrode terminal A second withstand voltage determination step is performed in which a second voltage higher than the first voltage is applied between the metal layer and the withstand voltage determination is performed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to detect in advance and remove products that are likely to cause insulation failure due to withstand voltage determination or that are likely to cause insulation failure in the future, thereby reducing waste of the manufacturing process. This can improve production efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs. Moreover, sufficient inspection can be performed without overdetection.

(A) is a schematic plan view which shows the test | inspection method of the battery of this invention, (b) is the XX sectional drawing. It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing method of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  First, the structure of the battery that is the subject of the inspection method of the present invention will be described. Here, an example of a lithium ion battery will be described. FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), a battery A includes a pair of laminated films 4 in which electrode laminates 3 in which a plurality of electrodes 1 and a plurality of separators 2 are alternately laminated are joined to each other. It is the structure enclosed in the package (exterior body) which consists of. Here, not only the entire periphery of the laminate film 4 is bonded and completely sealed, but also a part of the peripheral edge of the laminate film 4 is left unbonded in the manufacturing process. Is also referred to as a “package (exterior body)”.

  Although not illustrated, specifically, the positive electrode 1A is obtained by applying a positive electrode active material on a positive electrode current collector foil made of aluminum or the like, and uses lithium manganese oxide or lithium nickel oxide as the positive electrode active material. can do. The negative electrode 1B is obtained by applying a negative electrode active material on a negative electrode current collector foil made of copper or the like, and a carbon-based material such as graphite or amorphous carbon can be used as the negative electrode active material. The positive electrode 1 </ b> A and the negative electrode 1 </ b> B are stacked so as to overlap each other with the separator 2 interposed therebetween to form an electrode laminate 3, and the electrode laminate 3 is surrounded by a pair of laminate films 4. A positive electrode terminal 5A is electrically bonded to the positive electrode current collector foil of the positive electrode 1A, and a negative electrode terminal 5B is electrically bonded to the negative electrode current collector foil of the negative electrode 1B. And as shown to FIG. 1 (a), 1 (b), while making each one part of the positive electrode terminal 5A and the negative electrode terminal 5B protrude outside the laminate film 4, a pair of laminate films 4 are: The peripheral portions are overlapped and joined together by heat fusion or the like. Thus, the package which accommodates the electrode laminated body 3 is comprised by the pair of laminate films 4 in which the peripheral parts were mutually joined.

  The laminate film 4 covers one surface of the metal layer (for example, an aluminum layer) 4a (the surface located inside the finished package) with an insulating resin layer (inner layer 4b) that can be thermally fused, The surface (surface located outside in the package in a completed state) is covered with a resin layer (outer layer 4c) serving as a protective layer.

  Various materials can be used as the separator 2, and polypropylene is generally used. Further, as the electrolytic solution, polycarbonate, ethylene carbonate, dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, or the like can be used.

  Next, a procedure for manufacturing and inspecting the battery A will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. For the inspection method of the battery A, an inspection apparatus schematically shown in FIG. 1 is used. This inspection apparatus includes three probes 6A, 6B, and 6C, and a measurement apparatus 7 that is connected to the probes 6A, 6B, and 6C and can measure and determine electrical characteristics. In the present embodiment, two withstand voltage determinations are performed during the manufacturing process of the battery A, that is, before the electrolyte is injected.

  Specifically, first, the electrode laminate 3 is formed and the electrode terminals 5A and 5B are electrically connected (step S1). Both surfaces of the electrode laminate 3 are covered with a pair of laminate films 4, and the peripheral portions of the three sides of the laminate film are bonded to each other by a method such as heat fusion (step S2). At that time, a part of the electrode terminals 5A and 5B is heat-sealed in a state of protruding to the outside of the laminate film. One side of the laminate film is left unbonded for later use as an electrolyte inlet.

  In this state, the probe 6A of the inspection device is brought into contact with one electrode terminal (in this embodiment, the negative electrode terminal 5B connected to the negative electrode 1B), and the probe 6B is brought into contact with the metal layer 4a of the pair of laminate films 4 Then, the probe 6C is brought into contact with the other electrode terminal (the positive electrode terminal 5A connected to the positive electrode 1A in this embodiment). As a method of bringing the probe 6B into contact with the metal layer 4a, the protective layer, which is the outer layer 4c of the laminate film 4, may be peeled off to directly contact the probe 6B with the metal layer 4a, or a needle-like probe 6B is used. Then, the protective layer which is the outer layer 4c of the laminate film 4 may be penetrated and contacted with the metal layer 4a. Here, as shown in FIG. 1B, the probe 6 </ b> B penetrates the joint portion between the peripheral portions (positions where the electrode laminate 3 does not exist) of the pair of laminate films 4. That is, the needle-like probe 6B is in contact with the metal layer 4a of the upper laminate film 4 and the metal layer 4a of the lower laminate film 4. In this state, the following two withstand voltage determination steps are performed.

  In the first withstand voltage determination step (step S3), withstand voltage determination between the positive terminal 5A and the negative terminal 5B is performed. Specifically, a predetermined voltage (a first voltage lower than the withstand voltage of the separator, for example, 500 V) is applied between the probe 6A and the probe 6C to determine whether or not dielectric breakdown occurs. Check. If dielectric breakdown occurs, the operation is stopped and removed as a defective product (step S7). If dielectric breakdown does not occur even when the first voltage is applied between the probe 6A and the probe 6C, it is determined that the insulation between the positive electrode 5A and the negative electrode terminal 5B is good, and the manufacturing process To continue.

  In the second withstand voltage determination step (step S4), withstand voltage determination between the negative electrode terminal 5B and the metal layer 4a of the laminate film 4 is performed. Specifically, a predetermined voltage (a second voltage higher than the first voltage, for example, 1000 V) is applied between the probe 6A and the probe 6B to determine whether or not dielectric breakdown occurs. Check. If dielectric breakdown occurs, the operation is stopped and removed as a defective product (step S7).

  If dielectric breakdown does not occur even when the second voltage is applied between the probe 6A and the probe 6B, it is determined that the insulation between the negative electrode terminal 5B and the metal layer 4a of the laminate film 4 is good, Continue the manufacturing process. Specifically, the electrolytic solution is injected between the laminate films 4 from one side that is not joined at the peripheral edge of the pair of laminate films 4 (step S5). Then, one side of the peripheral edge of the laminate film 4 that is not joined is joined and sealed by a method such as thermal fusion (step S6). In this way, the battery A in which the electrode laminate 3 is sealed with the pair of laminate films 4 is completed. Then, the battery A is charged.

  In the present embodiment, in the middle of the manufacturing process of the battery A and before the electrolyte solution is injected, that is, in a state where the electrode laminate 3 is accommodated in the package and the electrolyte solution is not injected, The withstand voltage determination steps S3 and S4 are performed to detect and remove a product having an insulation failure or having a high possibility of an insulation failure in the future. Therefore, for those products, the step S5 for injecting the electrolyte and the subsequent step S6 are not performed, so that the waste of the manufacturing process can be reduced, and the production efficiency can be improved and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The order of performing step S3 for determining the withstand voltage between the positive electrode terminal 5A and the negative electrode terminal 5B and the step S4 for determining the withstand voltage between the negative electrode terminal 5B and the metal layer 4a of the laminate film 4 may be interchanged. If possible, step S3 and step S4 may be performed simultaneously.

  In the present invention, the withstand voltage determination (step S3) between the positive electrode terminal 5A and the negative electrode terminal 5B, the metal layer 4a of the laminate film 4, By performing the withstand voltage determination with respect to the negative electrode terminal 5B (step S4), it is possible to detect an electric short circuit. However, if step S3 is performed by applying a high voltage in the same manner as step S4, over-detection will occur, and there is no defect that may lead to a short circuit due to the porous nature of the separator. It will be removed as a good product. Therefore, the defect rate increases and the manufacturing cost increases. On the other hand, the heat-insulating insulating resin layer (inner layer 4b) described above is required to have high reliability such as no leakage even after heat-sealing. used. Therefore, if step S4 is performed by applying a low voltage in the same manner as in step S3, there is a possibility that a product (product with a potential defect) that may cause an insulation failure in the future is determined as a non-defective product. . The applicant of the present application has noticed a problem that when step S3 and step S4 are performed under the same voltage condition, the inspection cannot be performed with good accuracy. Therefore, as described above, step S4 is performed by applying a second voltage higher than the applied voltage (first voltage) in step S3. Thereby, in step S3, by applying a voltage capable of detecting a potential failure, it is possible to remove those that may become defective in the future as defective products. In step S4, a higher voltage is applied. Thus, the possibility of a short circuit in the inner layer 4b can be reliably detected.

  In addition, as a state where possibility that a short circuit will generate | occur | produce in the future is high, for example, the conductive foreign material has stuck in the resin layer of the laminate film 4, but it does not have short circuited by the angle etc., and then the angle of a foreign material For example, there may be a state in which a short circuit may occur due to a change in. In such a case, by applying a high voltage, it is possible to positively cause dielectric breakdown in the portion where the foreign material is stuck and remove it as a defective product. Thus, by removing in advance a battery that is likely to cause an electrical short circuit in the future and completing a battery that is less likely to cause a short circuit, the reliability of battery manufacturing can be improved. Further, it is not necessary to perform a useless manufacturing process, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low.

  In the above description, the electrode laminate 3 in which a plurality of positive electrodes 1A and negative electrodes 1B and a plurality of separators 2 are alternately stacked has been taken as an example, but the positive electrode 1A, the separator 2, and the negative electrode 1B are stacked one by one. A wound-type electrode laminate 3 in which is wound can also be used.

  The package is not limited to a type in which a pair of laminate films 4 are overlapped and the peripheral portions are joined, and a type in which the peripheral portions are joined in a state in which one laminate film 4 is folded. Further, the package is not limited to a bag-shaped package made of the laminate film 4 but may be a can-shaped package configured by a can case and a cap portion. In that case, the can case may be comprised from the metal layer in which the resin layer was formed inside. And it is preferable that one of positive electrode terminal 5A and negative electrode terminal 5B is connected to a can case, and the other protrudes from a cap part.

  The present invention is not limited to the individual configurations exemplified above, and can be combined in a range that does not depart from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A Positive electrode 1B Negative electrode 2 Separator 3 Electrode laminated body 4 Laminated film 4a Metal layer 5A Positive electrode terminal 5B Negative electrode terminal 6A, 6B, 6C Probe 7 Measuring apparatus A Battery

Claims (3)

An electrode laminate in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are stacked, a positive electrode terminal connected to the positive electrode, a negative electrode terminal connected to the negative electrode, a metal layer, and a resin layer disposed inside the metal layer Including a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal projecting to the outside in a state in which the electrode laminate and the electrolyte solution are housed inside and sealed, and a battery inspection method,
First withstanding the withstand voltage by applying a first voltage between the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal in a state where the electrode laminate is housed in the outer package and the electrolyte is not injected. And a second withstand voltage determination step of performing a withstand voltage determination by applying a second voltage higher than the first voltage between the positive electrode terminal or the negative electrode terminal and the metal layer. And a battery inspection method. The electrode laminate is formed by alternately laminating a plurality of the positive and negative electrodes and a plurality of the separators,
The exterior body is made of a pair of folded one laminate film including the metal layer and the resin layer, or a peripheral portion of the laminate film in a state where a part of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal protrudes to the outside. The battery inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the battery inspection method is formed by joining together. The battery is a lithium ion secondary battery,
The battery inspection method according to claim 1, wherein in the second withstand voltage determination step, withstand voltage is measured between the negative electrode terminal and the metal layer of the laminate film.

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